Obama credits Sanders with helping to counter big money in politics

U.S. President Barack Obama says Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is continuing the work Obama did in countering the influence of super PACS with small donations from average voters. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Obama credits Sanders with helping to counter big money in politics

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday (April 28) said the influence of big money in politics is one of the reasons voters are losing faith in democracy. He credited Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders with helping to combat that by mounting a grassroots campaign and getting much of his financing from small donors.

Obama made the comments while speaking to a group of student newspaper reporters from around the country who were gathered at the White House. He told the group that young people, as a voting group, make the largest impact on elections, and told them, “if you participate, you change the country.”

Groups across the country have been protesting the influence of bid money in politics. Earlier this month, conservative and independent protesters dumped faux contributions into Boston Harbor.

Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist running for the Democratic nomination, and Republican candidate Donald Trump have both criticized the influence of large campaign contributions in their surprising runs for the White House.